Nothing But The Funk: Blood Orange And Cranberry
Brewery Vivant

 

L - massive, fluffy offwhite head atop a translucent crimson body.

S - mixed berries, citrus, brown sugar.

T - subdued cranberry and citrus flavor. Quite bright, but relatively low on sour. The barrel is only slightly present. No bitterness. Moderate-low sweetness. No booziness.

F - medium-light body with high carb.

O - feels like the right weekend to drink this. Lots of cranberry, but wish the barrel and souring bacteria were more present.

 

Thank you FlintB for this
500 ml bottle poured into a tulip

A- A clear ruby red with a two finger pink head.

S- Tart, cranberries, super floral, touch of blood oranges and oak.

T- Sour, cranberries, some blood oranges, funky, floral, some oak, some leather.

M- Smooth, light to medium body, high carbonation.

O- A good sour overall, but I’m getting a floral/soupy off flavor. Cranberries are done nicely.

 

Ruby amber body is topped by a decent sized head of dirty white that's got just a hint of ruddy nature to it its own damn self. Wet, but good retention. Good lacing.

Nice tart front to the nose that's wrapped in round juicy sweetness that is oozy syrupy cranberry juice. Nice interplay/balance.

The short version: (almost) exactly what it says on the tin.
The slightly longer version: The proviso above is primarily of a pedantic nature relating to the word, "Nothing." The funk is there, and yay it is tasty for sure, but there is also an undeniable cranberry that is both tart and juicy sweet. If the label didn't say blood orange, it might take me a moment to pick that fruit out of a lineup, but I think the orange is a big part of that sweetness listed after cranberry, and also gives it a bold acidic backend.
Thin, dry body with heavy carbonation that feels totally appropriate for the flavours folded therein, the downslope of the finish is launched by that citric acidity and slides into that same aftertaste I get when drinking the juice cocktail I allude to below. Tart and dry and begging for another sip.

One of my favourite thirst quenchers at work is to mix cranberry and orange juice from the nutrition room fridge, and so this appeals to me greatly. The fact that it's really well done and delicious is (obviously) even better.

Much love to @FlintB for sending this along amongst the massive melage of Michigandery. Thanks Brian!

 

 

 

 

I picked up a bottle of Brewery Vivant's Nothing But The Funk: Blood Orange And Cranberry last week for $9.99 at The Lager Mill. This one caught my eye when I was looking for some new beers to try and I'm interested to see what this series is all about, so lets see how it goes. 2017 Vintage. Poured from a brown 500ml bottle into a Vivant Teku.

A- The label looks nice, it's got a nice design to it and it's just a little eye catching. It poured a nice ruby red color that didn't change when held to the light and it has almost two fingers worth of fizzy and bubbly off red and pink head that died down to a thin ring eventually faded away and it left just a little bit of spotty lacing behind. This is pretty nice looking beer, I like the color and I have no complaints.

S- The aroma starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the fruits being the first to show up and it's the cranberry that is the most noticeable and it imparts some nice cranberry juice like flavors with just a little bit of a citrus aroma in the background, but it's not really recognizable as blood orange. Up next comes a little bit of a funky yeast aroma that imparts some brett and barnyard like aromas. Towards the end comes the malts which are on the lighter side and they impart a pale malt, light grainy, doughy and sweet malt like aromas. This beer has a pretty nice aroma, but I wish the blood orange stuck out just a little more.

T- The taste seems to be seems to be pretty similar to the aroma and it starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness with the fruits still being the first to show up and this time they are both on the lighter side, but the cranberry still sticks out the most and the blood orange is just slightly more noticeable than it was in the aroma. Up next comes the yeast which imparts a lot more of a doughy flavor than the light funky yeast aspects that I got in the aroma and it's followed by the malts which imparts all the same aspects that they did in the aroma and they show up a little more with some bready flavors also showing up. On the finish there's a slightly higher amount of medium sourness with a clean, fruity and malty aftertaste. This is a pretty nice tasting beer, but it's lacking the funk to make it live up to it's name and I wish the fruits stuck out just a little more.

M- Fairly smooth, a little refreshing, a little clean, not overly sour, medium bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel is pretty nice and it works well with this beer.

Overall I thought this was a pretty nice beer and it's a nice example of the style, but it was lacking a couple key things that I was looking for and I think that made it a little rough around the edges. This beer had nice drinkability, I could drink a glass or two, but I might start to become bored with it after that. What I like the most about this beer is the color and the cranberry aromas, to me those are the highlights of this beer. What I like the least about this beer is that the yeast wasn't noticeably funky in the taste and I was hoping the individual fruit flavors would stick out a little more. I don't think I would buy this one again, but I wouldn't turn it down and I would recommend it for someone who's looking for a fruity sour that's light on the funk. All in all I liked this beer, but I didn't love it and I think with a little more work on the taste and balance and this could be a pretty good beer. It's not a favorite Vivant beer and it's a nice example of the style. Nice job guys, this is a solid sour, but there's still room for improvement.

 

500 ml bottle into tulip glass, 2017 vintage release. Pours crystal clear ruby reddish/orange color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light pink head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big juicy blood oranges, sour/tart/tangy cranberries, strawberry, lemon, lime, peach, pear, melon, green apple, citrus peel, red/white wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, and cracker; with light notes of pepper, funk, red wine vinegar, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, blood orange, cranberry, oak, and pale malt notes; with great strength. Flavors of big juicy blood oranges, sour/tart/tangy cranberries, strawberry, lemon, lime, peach, pear, melon, green apple, citrus peel, red/white wine, oak, wheat, and cracker; with light notes of pepper, funk, red wine vinegar, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tart/sourness, fruit tang, and light yeast/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of juicy blood oranges, sour/tart/tangy cranberries, strawberry, lemon, lime, peach, pear, melon, green apple, citrus peel, red/white wine, oak, wheat, cracker, light funk/vinegar, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, blood orange, cranberry, oak, and pale malt flavors; with a great malt/tart/sour/tangy fruit balance; and zero puckering/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from tart/sourness and tangy fruit. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately bready/grainy/acidic/tangy, and lightly tannic balanced mouthfeel that is awesome. Zero warming alcohol for 6.7%. Overall this is an excellent fruited sour/wild ale! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, blood orange, cranberry, oak, and pale malt flavors; very smooth and refreshing to drink, with the modestly sour/tart/tangy/drying finish. The huge intensity of the fruit character covers up some of the funk and oak notes; but this still has great balance of all flavors, and not overly lactic. Great well rounded fruity Brett complexity with the fruit; with a balancing malt backbone. A very enjoyable offering.

A - Pours a clear ruby red with a two finger pink head. The head dissapates quickly leaving some light soapy lacing.

S - Aroma is sweet and tart cranberries, lemon and blood orange zest.

T - The taste follows the aroma. Sweet and tart cranberries, blood orange, lemon amd lime. Finishes with a good amount of blood orange zest.

M - Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Soft mouthfeel with a crisp dry finish.

O - A really nice fruited Wild Ale. The cranberry and blood orange are the stars of show. Bright and refreshing.